Coming Home
by iwillalwaysbeyourlight
Summary: When her life beings to fall apart, Rory finds comfort in her mother's arms and brings some surprising news. This story takes place post Yale Graduation and is LL for all you Java Junkies. The summary doesn't do it justice, just read and review!Chapter 2
1. Chapter 1

A/N: **This is my first Gilmore Girls fan fiction so please go easy on me! I love hearing from my readers, so if you enjoy this story, please review! Reviews are what keep me motivated. This takes place about a year after Rory's Yale graduation. I'm taking artistic liberty in this story and pretending like Anna and April never happened!**

**Disclaimer: The only Gilmore Girls I own are the first five seasons on DVD!**

Lorelai Gilmore Danes stood staring out the window of her bathroom at a light flurry of snow that had just begun to fall. It was early March and a little late in the season for snow, making its surprise appearance extra special. The best and most magical things always happened when it snowed and she was hoping today would be no exception. The ringing of her kitchen timer abruptly shook her from her thoughts. She walked casually to the counter on the other side of the bathroom, trying to pretend that what the test said didn't matter.

"Damn it." She said, staring at the bold and unforgiving words **'Not Pregnant'**. She threw the test into the trashcan and sucked in a deep and cleansing breath. She peered down into the pink trashcan and realized that **'Not Pregnant'** was still staring at her. She reached down and wrapped the test stick in toilet paper before forcefully throwing it back down. "What?" She questioned Paul Anka when she realized he was staring at her from his place on the tile floor. "It was mocking me! The stupid test was mocking me. I'm not pregnant, I get it. I don't need it to mock Luke when he gets home." She sat down next to the dog and patted his head. "Tell me something, why do they make such a huge deal about the test being easier to read than all the other tests anyways? Because at sixteen, even I could tell the difference between a pink strip and a blue strip…." Lorelai's rant was interrupted by the rings of her cell phone.

"Don't hang up, don't hang up." She commanded the caller on the other line as she searched frantically for her phone. "Hello?" she said once she finally found it at the bottom of her purse.

"Morning." Luke replied. Lorelai could hear the diner was busy.

"You were gone when I got up. I missed seeing you this morning."

"You're not are you?" Luke asked, sensing the disappointment in his wife's voice.

"No, not this time."

"Well, give it time. We haven't been trying for that long." He tried to sound indifferent and strong for her sake, but his voice was full of just as much disappointment as Lorelai's.

"Yeah, you're right. It'll happen eventually." Lorelai only half believed this. She knew in her mind they'd only been trying for three months, she knew that doctors had confirmed that both she and Luke were still able to have children, she knew she was almost forty years old and that getting pregnant would not be easy. She had accepted the fact that, unlike its sister's, this baby's conception would require work, ovulation calendars, and careful timing. Rory's conception only required teenage passion, a little too much alcohol, ten minutes, and a broken condom.

"You okay?"

"I'm fine." She said in a less than convincing tone. At times, her heart ached with the desire to hold a newborn baby to her chest again and smell that sweet baby smell. Rory had spent most of the first few months of her life snuggled safely in Lorelai's arms. As much as she wanted to have that feeling again, she wanted even more for Luke to experience it for the first time ever.

"Damn."

"What?" Lorelai heard Luke barking orders at someone in the background.

"Something's on fire. I have to go, but we'll talk later. And Lorelai?"

"Yeah Luke?"

"I love you."

"I love you too."

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At the very same moment Lorelai was being mocked by her **'Not Pregnant'** test reading, Rory Gilmore was staring at the very same brand of pregnancy test. Except her test wasn't mocking her with a **'Not Pregnant'** reading but instead horrifying her slightly with a **'Pregnant'** reading. Rory sucked in a deep breath and splashed her face with cold water. "Okay, this is okay." She told her reflection. "I'm twenty-four, I have a good job, and I'm getting married in June." She paused. "This is good news. It's not the ideal time. But it's good news." She tossed the test into the trash only to retrieve it a moment later. She wrapped it tightly in entirely too much toilet paper and then threw it away again. As Rory squeezed cinnamon flavored toothpaste onto her toothbrush, she ran through numerous ways to tell Logan and her mom her news. Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard a cell phone ringing. Exiting the bathroom, she saw that Logan's phone had vibrated its way off the nightstand and was lying on the floor, alerting Rory that Logan had a new voice message.

"He must be missing this at work." She opened the phone and dialed the voicemail box number to ensure that the call hadn't been urgent.

"_Hey baby, it's Jessica. I just wanted to thank you for last night. Dinner was magical…."_ A rising anger caused Rory to stop listening for a moment. Logan told her he'd had a late night at the office, not dinner with another woman who sounded leggy and blonde. _"Anyway, I was hoping we could meet up again tonight. There's just so much chemistry it's hard to ignore. Give me a call when you get a chance."_

"Cheating son of a bitch…." Rory said through gritted teeth, throwing Logan's phone to the ground and then stepping on in for good measure. She grabbed her luggage from the closet and frantically began packing her belongings, not bothering to fold anything. As she packed, she dialed her mom's number.

Lorelai had just hung up with Luke when her phone rang again, she glanced at the display screen and smiled when she saw Rory's name.

"Hello my darling girl."

"Mom…." Rory started.

"What's wrong babe?" Lorelai tried to ignore the panic quickly rising inside of her when she heard the pain in Rory's voice.

"I need to come home."

"What happened?" For a few minutes all Lorelai heard was Rory's heavy breathing on the other end of the phone. "Honey?"

"He's cheating on me."

"What?"

"Logan's cheating on me. His girlfriend just called his cell and left a message about their date last night. I need to get out of here."

"Oh hon….." Lorelai said in a soothing voice. She had an overwhelming desire to reach through the phone and wrap her daughter in her loving arms. "Do you need me to come and get you?"

"No, I'm okay. I'm just packing up my stuff and coming home, I mean, if it's okay"

"Sweetie, it's more than okay. I want you here with me."

"Thanks. And mom…."

"I'll ask Luke to bring home some food from the diner." Lorelai said, knowing what Rory was about to ask.

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After hanging up with her daughter, Lorelai walked upstairs into the room Rory had once shared with Logan on their visits. When she and Luke had moved into the new house her parents purchased for them, they insisted on keeping a room for Rory. Lorelai walked into the room and sniffed the air. She wanted to make sure the scent of Logan's cologne didn't linger from his last visit. It didn't. The air smelled purely of Rory. As Lorelai stripped the sheets from the bed and replaced them with fresh ones, she realized that above the anger she felt towards Logan and the sadness she felt for Rory, she was relieved. The bastard had done the last terrible thing he would ever do to Rory. Logan had been nothing but bad for Rory, and the only reason Lorelai had ever been kind to him was because Rory seemed to love him. After fixing Rory's room, Lorelai called Luke.

"Luke's diner." He sounded grumpy.

"Good, you didn't burn down!" She teased.

"Oh, hello. Yeah, it was no big deal really, just a tiny fire." All the sourness in Luke's voice melted when he hear Lorelai's voice.

"I need you to bring home some food from the diner tonight."

Luke laughed a little, "Just calling to remind me?"

"No, not just dinner from the diner but dinner and a serious amount of junk! Hamburgers, fries, chili fries, onion rings, hot dogs, mashed potatoes, ice cream, coffee, everything you've got."

"Rory's coming home for a visit?"

"No, she's coming home for good. That slimy, disgusting little weasel is cheating on her."

"Is she okay? Do I need to go get her?" Luke asked, trying to quiet the father inside of him that wanted to go break Logan in two.

"No, she's driving. She was on Rory autopilot when I talked to her."

"Give her a hug for me when she gets there."

"I will."

"I'll see you two when I get home."

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Lorelai was busy checking the cabinets for pop tarts and the refrigerator for raw cookie dough when she heard Rory's car pull into the driveway. She immediately stopped what she was doing and rushed outside.

"Hey." Lorelai whispered, pulling a queasy looking Rory into a tight hug. Looking into the car, Lorelai noticed that Rory's usual commuter cup of coffee had been replaced by a bottle of Sprite and that an opened package of saltine crackers sat on the passenger seat. The realization hit her like a ton of bricks. Her baby girl was pregnant.

"Hi mom." Rory whispered back, sinking into her mother's arms.

"How are you?" Lorelai pulled away slightly and placed her hand on her daughter's cheek. The loving touch of her mother gave Rory permission to finally break down.

"Why……doesn't……he…..love….me?" Rory hiccupped, burying her head in her mother's shoulder

"Shhhh, it's okay sweetie." Lorelai kissed her head and smoothed her hair. She could feel Rory's tears soaking through her shirt. "Mommy's here. It's going to be okay." She let Rory cry for a few minutes before taking her face in her hands and wiping her tears away with her thumb. "Let's get you inside. It's cold out here."

Lorelai led her sobbing daughter upstairs to her bedroom and helped her change into the warmest pair of sweats she owned.

"Won't Luke mind?" Rory asked as her mother tucked her into her bed. Lorelai had tucked Rory into her bed a hundred times before when she was sad, sick, or scared, but she had never tucked Rory into _their_ bed.

Lorelai smiled and shook her head, "No, he won't." She picked up the phone and dialed. "Hey Joe, its Lorelai, I need a pizza with everything on it." She paused for a minute, "Thanks." After hanging up the phone, Lorelai climbed into bed and kissed her daughter's blotchy red cheek.

"My heart hurts." She whispered as her tears began to fall again.

"I know angel face." She said, pulling Rory closer to her. Feeling the irregular rise and fall of Rory's chest against her side, seeing her swollen eyes, and hearing her sobs broke Lorelai's heart in two.

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After about an hour, Rory had calmed down enough to try and eat the pizza her mother was offering her. She regretted eating the moment she started on her second piece.

"Uh oh……." She mumbled, throwing her plate on the bed and rushing into the bathroom where she immediately began to gag violently. She felt her mother pull her hair into a low ponytail and kneel beside her.

"Oh honey…." Lorelai cooed as she rubbed her back soothingly. When she was done, Rory closed her eyes and sunk back into her mothers arms exhausted.

Lorelai placed a cold cloth on her head. "The morning sickness is the worst part babe. Well, that and the labor."

Rory opened her eyes and looked at her when she realized what she was saying. "You knew?"

Lorelai smiled, "Of course I knew. You're my daughter, moms just know."

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I just found out this morning, and then everything with Logan happened and…..are you mad?"

"Of course not." Lorelai said, helping Rory to her feet and leading her back to bed. "How do you feel about it?" She asked, tucking the blankets around Rory.

"I think I feel good about it. I mean, babies are good even when they aren't born under the best circumstances right?"

"You have no idea kid. You certainly weren't born at the most ideal time in my life and you're without a doubt the best thing that ever happened to me. I didn't know love until I had you." Lorelai paused. "Did you tell Logan?"

Rory shook her head, "No, I just left a note saying 'Your girlfriend called' with his smashed cell phone and my engagement ringsitting on top of it."

"You broke his phone?"

"Yeah, I stepped on it with my heel." Rory said with a slight smile.

"That's my girl!" Lorelai said, kissing her forehead.

"Do you think I can do it? Raise a baby on my own? I mean, I know you did it but you're likesuperwoman."

"I know you can do it. And thank you for such a sweet compliment but I'm no superwoman. Besides you do not have to do this alone. You have me, you have Luke, and you have you grandparents, not to mention the entire town of Stars Hollow."

Rory's face became panicked at the mention of her grandparents, "Do you think they'll be mad?"

"No hon, this isn't the same thing as their daughter getting pregnant at sixteen. You graduated college and have a job you love." Lorelai decided not to throw in the fact that she had been engaged.

"But I'm not very good with kids."

"I wasn't exactly the neighborhood Mary Poppins before you came along. People saw me coming and covered their kids' eyes. With your kids it's different though. Pregnancy was hard and labor was even harder, but the minute the doctor put you in my arms I forgot it all. You were slimy and a little gross but you were the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. You opened your eyes and looked at me and I was yours." Lorelai's eyes misted at the memory of Rory's birth.

"So this is going to be good?" Rory half asked, half stated.

"This is going to be great."

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"Hey." Luke whispered stepping into the bedroom. Rory was snuggled in Lorelai's arms fast asleep and Lorelai was staring at a muted TV. Seeing the two people he loved most in the same room made Luke smiled.

"Hi honey." Her face lit up at the sight of him.

"She okay?" He asked, sitting on the edge of the bed by Lorelai and kissing her on the lips.

"She will be. She's devastated but she finally fell asleep."

"I brought food. Do you want me to put it in the refrigerator?"

"Yeah, thank you."

"You need anything?"

She nodded again, "Another kiss please." He complied. "Do you want to put Rory in her bed?"

Luke shook his head, "No, I'll go sleep there. She needs you more than I do." Luke kissed Lorelai once more before gently patting Rory's back and turning to leave. Lorelai smiled contently and closed her eyes. Watching Luke leave, she knew he loved Rory as much as she did.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Wow! Thanks for all the great reviews. Keep 'em coming! Since I got such an overwhelming response I decided to sit down right away and write the next chapter after watching the finale (don't get me started on that….)**

Luke grumbled when Rory's cell phone rang for the fourth time that hour. "Stop calling Logan." He barked into the phone.

"I need to talk to Rory."

"You don't _need_ to talk to Rory, you **want** to talk to Rory. There's a big difference."

"Fine, I want to talk to my fiancée." Logan spat back, putting a lot of emphasis on the word 'fiancée'

"Listen you worthless little twerp. She's not your fiancée anymore. She doesn't want to talk to you, and I wouldn't blame her if she never wanted to talk to you again. You damn well better stay away from this house and my family. As much as I would love to watch my wife rip you to pieces, we're just starting our married life together and I'd hate for her to spend the rest of it in jail. If you try to contact Rory or come here without her permission I will call the cops. And I have to warn you, they just got some new handcuffs at the Stars Hollow Jail and there's a new kid fresh from police school who's just dying to make use of our town's very empty cell." Luke said forcefully. He then hung up and turned off Rory's phone completely.

Luke climbed the stairs and knocked softly on the door to the bedroom he shared with Lorelai.

"Come in." Lorelai whispered. Luke entered their bedroom carrying a huge tray piled with every breakfast food imaginable. Lorelai let out a small gasp, "Well Luke Danes, look what you've created for us!"

"Breakfast in bed for my two favorite girls." He said, setting the tray down and coming to kiss Lorelai. "How long have you been up?"

"About an hour."

"She's still out huh?" Luke asked, indicating Rory.

"Yeah, I didn't have the heart to leave her alone." Lorelai said reaching out to rub her daughter's back lovingly.

"Do I smell pancakes?" Rory mumbled groggily.

"Yeah sweets, look what Luke did for us."

"Hi Luke," Rory sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. "Thanks for sharing her with me last night." She said, indicating her mom.

"Anytime." Luke said, walking to the other side of the bed and embracing Rory in an awkward hug. "Well, you two are up and fed so I need to get to the diner. You've got an entire pot of coffee, pancakes, bacon, sausage, eggs. You know a heart attack on a plate. I also threw in some freshly squeezed orange juice…."

"Freshly squeezed? Dirty!" Lorelai said, raising her eyebrow and looking at Luke.

"Make sure she behaves today Rory."

"I will, and Luke?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you tell Miss Patty and Babette about why I'm back and ask them to spread it around town?"

"Dirty!" Lorelai joked again.

"Sure thing." He said walking to the other side of the bed and kissing Lorelai goodbye.

Observing her mother's face as she watched Luke out of the room made Rory smile. "He really loves you."

"I really love him too."

"I'm glad you're so happy mom."

Lorelai smiled. "So how are you feeling honey? You look a little green." She asked, reaching up to tuck a strand of Rory's hair behind her ear.

"I feel empty and a little nauseous."

"Eat something; it'll help with the nausea. That's what I did when I was pregnant with you. Of course that's probably why I weighed about a thousand pounds when I delivered you."

"Is this decaf?" Rory asked, sticking her coffee cup under her mother's nose.

Lorelai sniffed the coffee."No silly girl, have I taught you nothing?"

"I'll miss you coffee." Rory stuck out her bottom lip in a pout as she poured her coffee back into the pot.

"And the Oscar goes to…."

"Don't tease. You'd die if you had to go without your coffee. Didn't you drink coffee even when you were pregnant with me?"

"Yes." Lorelai said, looking a little guilty. "But hey, you turned out okay! And who's to say the caffeine you were exposed to didn't help your little baby brain develop into the super brain it is or that it didn't give you the fastest metabolism in the history of metabolisms?"

"Maybe…."

"Thank the mommy." Lorelai said pointing to her cheek. Rory laughed and planted a kiss on her mother's cheek.

"I've missed Luke's pancakes and eggs."

"Are you okay?" Lorelai asked, ignoring Rory's breakfast commentary. "Do you want to talk?"

Rory shook her head. "Not right now. I don't really know what to say. I'm still a little shocked."

"Okay, but you know you can come to me any time you do want to talk." Lorelai said as she continued to look at Rory with concern in her eyes.

"I know." Rory said smiling. "Hey, did you tell Luke?"

"No, I wasn't sure if you wanted to tell people yet."

"I guess I want to wait until I make an appointment with my doctor. Crap, I need to make an appointment with my doctor and my doctor is forty-five minutes away in a different town."

"You could go to my doctor. She's great and right in Stars Hollow so she's never very busy. I bet she could squeeze you in today."

"Works for me." Rory said, casually glancing at the calendar. "Oh my God."

"What?"

"It's FRIDAY!"

"So?" Lorelai sat for a moment staring at Rory blankly until it dawned on her. "And we're expected at the Gilmore house tonight."

"Where we will come in, hand our coats to the maid, and sit down for drinks as usual. Except tonight I'll have to decline anything with alcohol in it and they'll know."

"They might not notice."

"Mom, this_ is_ Emily Gilmore we're talking about here. She can smell stuff like this from a mile away." Rory said rolling her eyes.

"Okay, so you tell them that you were so upset over Logan that Miss Patty brought you some Founders Day Punch for breakfast and you're still a little drunk."

"That'll go over real well."

"So get a drink and I'll down it while they're not looking."

"That could work."

"You know, I wouldn't offer to drink extra alcohol for just anyone. That's how much I love you kid!"

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"Rory, come on we're going to be late." Lorelai called up the stairs.

"Grandma, I'm fine really. Mom's taking good care of me." She paused for a minute, listing to Emily rant on. "Yeah, I know he's a scumbag grandma. Listen, mom and I are going out now but we'll see you tonight." Rory said before hanging up the phone and heading downstairs. "I don't think I've ever heard grandma use such foul language!"

"So she was pretty angry at Logan?"

"Her list of ways to cause him bodily harm alone could get her arrested."

"I could certainly add to that list." Lorelai regretted the words immediately after they left her mouth. She was doing her best not to blatantly insult the man her daughter had loved for so many years. "Come on babe, let's go."

"Wait, put these on." Rory said, handing Lorelai a pair of sunglasses and a baseball hat.

"Rory, sweetie, it's overcast outside."

"I know. But I don't want someone to see us walking into the doctors' office and getting suspicious. I'm not ready to deal with everyone knowing.

"Don't worry, everyone will just think you're going with me to an appointment. I've been seen there a lot lately."

Rory's expression turned sad when she realized what her mother was saying. "I'm sorry mom. I know you and Luke are trying so hard for a baby. I'm so insensitive sometimes."

"Oh honey…." Lorelai said hugging Rory tightly. "No, don't be sorry. I'm very happy about this." She placed her hand on her daughter's flat stomach. "This is good and exciting and happy. I'm going to be a grandma. My daughter's going to be a mom."

"Grandma…." Rory said, testing the word out. "That sounds so wrong."

Lorelai wrinkled up her nose, "Yeah, well, we'll figure out something."

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"So this is it huh?" Rory asked, standing outside the office of one 'Elizabeth Matthews'.

"Yep, you ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be."

"Well then, let's go." Lorelai reached to pull open the door but stopped pulling when the door was half open as a familiar voice reached their ears.

"…and if you'd like to you can purchase some of our special cream it's great for…." Lorelai let the door drop closed.

"Kirk works in your doctors' office?" Rory asked sounding shocked and freaked out.

"He didn't three weeks ago." Lorelai replied sounding equally freaked out.

"That's kind of creepy."

Lorelai shrugged, "Like we should be surprised. The only places in town Kirk doesn't work at are The Dragonfly and Luke's. And that's not for a lack of his trying."

"Do you think he'll tell anyone?"

Lorelai shook her head, "No, but follow my lead." She said, taking Rory's hand and leading her to the reception desk. "Hi Kirk."

"Name?" Kirk asked.

"Kirk!" Lorelai said, sounding exasperated.

"Name?" Kirk repeated.

"Lorelai Gilmore. The appointment's at 3:30."

"Lorelai Gilmore or Lorelai Gilmore-Danes?"

"Lorelai Gilmore."

"Really? I thought you took Luke's last name."

"Just Gilmore Kirk."

"Okay. So you and Luke are hoping to up the population of Stars Hollow by one huh? Taylor put you up to it?"

"Ewww, no Kirk."

"Well, if you end up having a baby I'd be happy to sell you baby shower invitations and birth announcements at a reduced price. And I must say Kirk is a nice strong name for a baby boy."

"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind." Lorelai said sarcastically.

"Just fill these out." Kirk said handing Lorelai a clipboard with forms on it. He turned his attention to the younger Gilmore, "Hi Rory."

"Hey Kirk."

"I'm wanted to express my sympathies about you and Logan."

"Well, thank you very much Kirk."

"And if you're looking into purchasing a house here in town I'd be glad to show you some property."

"Thanks, but I think I'll be okay."

"We're gonna go sit down now Kirk." Lorelai said taking Rory's arm and pulling her away. "See, I knew naming you after me would come in handy some day." Lorelai whispered as she handed Rory the clipboard.

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After having about four vials of blood taken and being examined, Rory sat in the cold examination room with her mother staring at the slightly graphic posters depicting the stages of childbirth that hung on the walls.

"It's best not to study the posters too hard babe." Lorelai said rubbing Rory's arm lovingly. "I know it seems scary now but it's all worth it, trust me."

"You'll be there with me when I'm in labor right?" Rory asked in an attempt to quiet her irrational fear of giving birth with no one by her side.

"Not even a nationwide coffee shortage could keep me away."

Dr. Matthews interrupted the conversation with a knock at the door.

"Come in." Rory called.

"Well Rory, I just got your test results back and everything looks fabulous."

"Oh good!" Rory said, letting out a sigh of relief.

"Looks like your little one is due October 8th."

Lorelai smiled and nudged Rory, "You were born on October 8th."

"I know!" Rory whispered.

"I just want to do a quick ultrasound and then you can go okay? Sorry, the gel is a little cold." Dr. Matthews apologized when Rory jumped as the clear made contact with her bare abdomen.

"You'd think they would have figured out a way to warm the stuff by now." Lorelai said, a smile coming to her face as she remembered the first time she saw baby Rory on an ultrasound.

"There's the baby and there's its heartbeat." Dr. Matthews pointed to a fluttering black and white spot on the monitor screen.

"Wow…" Rory said, unable to take her eyes off the screen. She didn't realize she was crying until Lorelai reached over and wiped the tears away with her hand. When Rory looked at her, she saw she was crying too. "What do you think mom?"

"I think it's one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen."


End file.
